3441 Miles Away - Roughly
by SaveTheWorldGetTheGirl
Summary: Set around and after Leo's death... how do Nikki and Harry decide to deal with it: together or apart? Matters aren't helped by Nikki's ability to keep a secret, nor the new appointment as head of the Lyell Centre. Bit of a vague summary, hopefully as you read it will become less cryptic. :)
1. For the Nights I Can't Remember

**_A/N: _****Hi everyone! I'm Hannah. I'm new to the SW fandom; I basically spent my summer watching from series 9 onwards and I've grown to completely love the characters, especially the Harry and Nikki 'relationship' and Nikki and Leo's father/daughter thing. (Leo :'( ) Anyway, I thought I would have a go at writing a fic; it's not my first ever, just my first SW one so I hope it's alright. I'm definitely open to constructive criticism and any positive reviews :) I've read loads of SW fanfics over the hols and all of which I've read have been amazing, so hopefully I can add to the already very high standard set by you all. Ramble over, enjoy and please review!  
>Hannah x<strong>

_"__Harry wait! You… I…" he spun around quickly, expecting a half-grin on her face amongst the tears as she hands him something he forgot or yet another joke gift to amuse him on the plane. He couldn't have been more wrong; she faced with a serious expression, still with the tear-track stains and even more filling up her eyes, clearly gearing up to say something important._

_"Niks?" he put his hand luggage down as she made to take both of his hands in her own while she looked down, initially avoiding his questioning gaze.  
>"I don't really… how to say… I'm - "<em>

_"I'm going to miss my flight Nikki." He joked, because he had another two hours until his flight; he just wanted to put her at ease, which he realised was stupid because neither of them were ever going to be comfortable with this set-up. She did however smile slightly before continuing with her stuttered question:_

_"Harry, what would you do… I mean… would you stay if… Harry would you stay if I told you…if I told you that I love you?" if she had been talking about something completely mundane he would have made jokes about how his dead grandmother could sprint faster than she had got that sentence out. Except it wasn't something mundane. She was making the first move… well the second first move… at the complete wrong time. It was so 'them' though – nothing ever happened when they wanted it to – only ever at the most inconvenient or inappropriate times, such as now, when he was about to jump on a plane to 3441 miles away – roughly._

_"Are you telling me you love me?"  
>"Would you stay?"<em>

_"I don't… I don't know… Probably, I want…" He was at a loss for what to say. Of course he would stay; he would jump in his car and take them back to her house in a heartbeat and never look back._

_"Okay."_

_"Okay what?"_

_"You should… you should go." She released her grip on him with some resistance on his part. He looked confused for about a second and then hurt. She hadn't told him she loved him, as much as she wanted to; why hadn't she told him? He silently hugged her for what felt like an eternity before picking up his black hold-all and walking away from her. _

xxxxxx

Nobody had been able to get in contact with her the days before the funeral; she let the phone ring and ring until people stopped trying while she sat on her sofa with her knees tucked into her chest, not sleeping, not eating. She just stared blankly into the room around her, not at the room per se but somewhere for her eyes to rest as she sat thinking about the past week's events repeatedly over and over every day since she got back from Afghanistan until a few hours before she would have to 'get up' and make herself look presentable in black attire. It was at this point she realised she'd have to phone _him_. For some reason she hadn't even thought about it until now; he didn't know about Leo because he was so far away and not aware of their every move, but that didn't mean he didn't deserve to know. It just meant that while he was the only person she needed, he was too busy being 3441 miles away – roughly. She snapped out of her awake but 'unconscious' state and hesitantly picked up the house phone beside her.

"Hello?" She could just imagine him with severe bed head rolling around on to his back to reach out for his phone with his eyes still closed, knocking something over before mumbling a profanity and unwillingly opening his eyes to find the source of the persistent ringing, eventually picking up ready to give the person on the other end a piece of his mind. She knew she was right as his 'hello' came with an angry, rough edge which continued as he questioned who was on the other end of the line. "Who's there? Do you have any idea of the time?"

"Harry?" She didn't realise she had opened her mouth to speak, never mind actually forming an actual word. It's the first word she's said in days; it's the first time she's needed to speak and she found herself croaky, her throat dry and sore from all the crying.

"Niks? Is that you? Are you okay?" It had been just less than a month since he had heard her voice, when she was telling him about the gang at the Lyell Centre going to Afghanistan. He remembered telling her to be careful, and also to not encourage any of the poor soldiers. However as he listened to her voice now, it was clear this wasn't going to be a conversation for joking.

"It's me… yeah it's me. I… no, Harry I'm not okay. I'm so far from okay I can't even remember what 'okay' is." She was rambling now; it was as though having remembered how to speak she was saying everything at once in case she lost the ability to do so.

"Nikki calm down. What's happened? Is it a case or-"

"It's… Leo." Her voice was so solemn neither could believe it actually belonged to her.

"What's happened? Is he okay?" He was sat up in bed now, and was considering getting up and dressed, even though there was nothing he could do if Leo was in trouble, because he was 3441 miles away – roughly.

"No Harry. He's not okay… Leo's gone. He's d… he's dead Harry!" She half shouted the last word but it still caught in her breath as she sobbed violently. Suddenly everything was silent apart from her quick in succession breaths as she tried to stop herself from panicking and crying but it just made things worse for Harry on the other end, who found his own breathing had sped up, his own eyes were becoming cloudy, just like his brain as he tried to process what she had just said, but all trails of thought ending in, and creating more, confusion.

"Are… you…are you there?" She said as the sound of her crying became too much for her to focus on; she needed to hear his voice again.

"Yeah… I'm here, Niks. I… how? When? I…"

"When we were in Afghanistan… there was… he saved us. He saved everyone… except himself he's… God he's so stupid. Why did he do it?"

"Nikki… I… I'm coming back. I'll get the first flight out. I don't…" He could feel the warm liquid rolling down his own cheeks as he imagined them being reflected on Nikki's. He couldn't understand what she was saying – what was she telling him? She was upset and confused obviously, he couldn't expect her to make sense. He looked at his clock. It was only just one in the morning so he hadn't even been asleep for more than 3 hours, but the previous day had been incredibly draining what with the amount of coursework he had to mark and go through with pupils he knew half of which had no interest in anything he was saying and were only there for the 'university experience'. That made it four in the morning where she was. Clearly she hadn't been sleeping. He wondered how long she had kept the news about Leo from him; when Nikki was sad she had a tendency to not communicate this fact to her friends, not even him. He guessed it was harder for her now that he lived  
>so far away but still, he had made sure she had always known he was always there, no matter the time difference.<p>

"Nikki are you still there?" He had by this point climbed out of bed and had padded across the room to find his laptop.

"Yes." It barely more than a whisper, but it was all that she could muster. She didn't really want to speak to him anymore, she just wanted him to speak to her; she wanted to know that everything was okay, or at least it would be. Better yet, what she really wanted was for him to have been with her then, in that moment and not 3441 miles away.

"I'm just going to see when I can fly out."

"Harry?"

"Mmm?"

"The funeral… It's today; this afternoon. I'm sorry… I just… I couldn't speak to you… I didn't know what to say before now." She was now crying properly, clearly feeling the guilt at having kept this information from him. He was struck by her words like a knife piercing its way through his heart slowly, but he couldn't be mad at her now in this moment. He could hear how sorry she was and if anything that made him feel worse, because she was just adding to her depression.

"It's… fine." It was anything but fine. Fine would mean that Leo was still there and he could trust Nikki to tell him everything that caused her pain. This was the complete opposite of fine; when were things ever going to be fine again? "I've got a flight. I need to… this is going to be close. I will get into London at… 11am… what's that your time?"

"Two… I think. You will have to go straight to the Church. The… the service is at three." She'd finally stopped crying, or at least it sounded like it. Her voice was coming back a little and he let out a lungful of air he was unaware he was holding in.

"Nikki?"

"Mmm?"

"I'll be there. It's all going to be okay… not right now… but eventually."

"I just… I can't see it."

"I know…"

"I miss you."

"I miss you too. Niks try and get some sleep; it sounds like you could do with some." It was a stupid thing to say, but the conversation was becoming awkward; some things were better said face to face.

"You know… you know I won't be able to. Every time… when I close my eyes I… I see-" He could hear her voice cracking again.

"Well just rest then. I'll be there as soon as I can… I promise. I'm going to go now, but I'll call you as soon as I land."

"Okay."

"See you soon Nikki."

"Bye Harry." He waited until she had put the phone down before pressing the end call button himself, just in case she had something more to say. He rummaged through his wardrobe, quickly shoving everything he would need for the next few days into a holdall he kept at the top. He then pulled out his suit, and sighed as he unzipped the protective bag. The tears had never stopped falling since he had found out the news, but now with no Nikki to be strong for, he let out an anguished cry and let the clothes fall from his hands as he cupped them to his face and collapsed back on to the bed. 

**Please review and let me know whether I should carry on :) **


	2. Bleeding Out

**Hi everyone! Sorry this update is so late, I haven't had internet for the past two weeks :( however it's given me plenty of time to write some chapters up so hopefully they should be pretty regular until I start my first term. Thank you for everyone who read/reviewed/faved/followed it means a lot. I hope you like this chapter, it's sort of a filler for before Harry gets there. I also steal a line from John Green's ****_The Fault in Our Stars_**** because I loved it and it really worked with the chapter. Okay, enjoy! And please review :)**

**Bleeding Out - Imagine Dragons**

She knew he would gently scold her for not even trying to get some sleep, but she just couldn't. Even with the knowledge that he was going to be there, she still felt immensely alone, and while she was feeling like that, she knew there was no possible way that she could have a peaceful and undisturbed (from the nightmares) couple of hours rest. It was as though listening to his voice had somehow charged her up; she pushed her legs down and heard her knees crack as she did so. It wasn't because she was getting older, in fact she was peaking in physical health and fitness, but because she had barely moved from the position for several days only getting up to go to the bathroom and nothing more. As she moved she felt her stomach churn, but she was used to ignoring it now as well as the light-headedness she experienced as she stood up. Her hand rested on the arm of the cream leather sofa to steady herself, before she finally started making her way to her bedroom

Everything was in its rightful place. Nothing had moved since she had set off on her life-changing journey to Afghanistan; it was strange because for some reason she expected it to. When she got back she expected her flat to be in ruins, but it wasn't. Everything was neatly organised; it had stayed tidy apart from the desk in her study, which was never tidy anyway, so an organised desk would have been a monumental change. It felt like the rest of her life should have been in chaos too, because he played such a large role in it but in reality nothing much else had changed. The Lyell would move on, but people would still die, there would be evidence to piece together, and there would still be work for her there. Jack and Clarissa would be sad for a while but they'd get back on the job. Harry would stay for the funeral and then he'd go back to New York, back to his life. Then what would she do? She would do exactly what she had planned to do when Leo retired. She would still go to work every day, she might even head up the Lyell Centre; she would hire a new pathologist although of course nobody would live up to her predecessor, nor would they fill in the hole that Harry left a year ago. Jack had created a new space, a new dynamic in the centre along with Clarissa and he just wasn't the right shape to fit into the gap, but Nikki was sure that had something to do with the fact that she and Harry were never just colleagues; they were never just friends even. Moving on was difficult but she managed somehow. She stumbled on even when their phone calls became less frequent and in the end they discussed things via emails rather than listening to each other's voices because of the time difference and their busy work schedules. Is that what would happen? Could she just 'get over' Leo? Right now the thought of moving on seemed impossible and disrespectful to his memory, but she had managed it with Harry and even though it wasn't quite the same, he had also suddenly disappeared from her life without causing chaos in the other aspects of it. But then she remembered the phone call. He could sense the sadness in her voice instantly and automatically new she needed him. Leo was always ways the same, but now she couldn't just stroll into Leo's office and reminisce with him when something reminded her of Harry because he wasn't going to be there. He was no longer going to respond to her every beck and call and there was the difference.

There was a sudden smash that distracted her from her thoughts and also brought her crashing down to reality. She looked down at her bleeding hand for she had just angrily hit the mirror in her bathroom with the heel of it; shards of glass filled the sink underneath it and the light above flickered wildly. She couldn't even remember how she got here… She was in the living room… no her bedroom. Now she was here. Probably with glass wedged into her skin, tears streaming down her face, staring at what remained of the reflective surface. The pieces of the mirror left on the wall reflected her perfectly: she was broken. She had hit the mirror with such a force it was completely broken, without use, pointless. She always thought she was stronger than that though, how could it just take one swift motion to break her? Then she thought about the magnitude of the motion. Leo. There was no doubt that Leo could do the same to a person. In the act of saving her, she had been shattered.

She had no idea how long she had been sat on the wet floor of her shower, but when she opened her eyes the water was no longer running red and daylight seeped through the blinds. She looked down at her pink and tattered hand noticing the skin peeling away at various points across the palm. Then she ran the other through her hair; it caught as the water had made the strands coagulate. She vaguely recalled pulling the glass out of her hand with her first aid kit tweezers, before stumbling into the shower and washing away the dried and freshly erupting blood. Then she washed her hair and then… she had felt faint, she remembered that. She knew the reason she had slid down the tiled wall of her shower unconscious wasn't that she had lost blood. She was completely exhausted and out of energy, the charge Harry had sparked her with had run out; she felt completely pathetic and once again the tears began to slip down her face. She had decided somewhere in the back of her mind that today would be difficult, she just hadn't anticipated the extent to which it would; speaking to Harry had seemingly made things worse, but she could see at the same time, that it was the only thing that had encouraged her to act.

She faltered through the rest of the morning; managing by some means to get herself dressed and presentable for the funeral. But she did that too quickly; she hoped it would take up some time because all she wanted was for today to be over. It was only just seven o'clock and she had done basically everything she needed to do… or so she thought. Once again taking her default position on the sofa, she muted the television which was currently showing reruns of some soap she had lost track of years ago and flicked the button on her answering machine. There were countless messages of condolences, several messages from Jack and Clarissa and one from Janet. She listened to her voice breaking slightly as she spoke, even though you could tell she was trying her hardest not to show her real feelings. She spoke about how she and the Lyell Staff had organised the funeral and how she thought Nikki might want to read a eulogy. She had listened to the message once before of course, when it had been left but she hadn't quite heard it, just took note of when it was. She hadn't even registered that it was Janet, and felt a sudden surge of guilt. Nikki knew that Janet still harboured feelings for Leo even after their break up, so she must have taken the news of his death just as badly. After the guilt she felt panic; Janet had asked her to do a eulogy. She hadn't even thought about it; she hadn't even registered it the first time she had heard the message. Ah, there was the guilt again. She could organise a funeral and a reading for her pathetic excuse of a father but not for Leo, her mentor and idol and better father than Victor Alexander had ever been to her. It was almost as though in that moment filled with guilt, she realised the extent of her love for that man, who had been there for her when nobody else was; he was the only person she had ever looked up to and the only person she had ever aspired to be. She had six hours before she had to be at the Church and for letting the feelings consume her for just a moment, she knew what she had to say, because she wanted so desperately believe it.

Folding the scrappy piece of paper into her purse, she felt nervous as she opened the door to the outside world. Just looking out to a world where Leo wasn't a part of it was a scary prospect to her; she pulled her coat together, trying to protect her weak frame against the cold and stepped out. The days passed beforehand in a blur, but everything in this one seemed to strike a chord with her; the coldness of the air, the sharpness of the wind and the loneliness she felt getting into her car. Today was the day that pain demanded to be felt.

The flight was unbearable; it was filled with businessmen and women tapping away on their laptops, each looking angrier as the rows went on. Then there were the families. He couldn't quite understand why there were so many of them, he put it down to one of those random bank holidays they get, that nobody understood the reason for, but they don't care because they're just thankful for the long weekend. Then and worst of all, there was the lady sat next to him; she was a nervous flier, on a seven hour flight to London. An audible sigh left his lips on several occasions as she panicked to her husband on her other side that didn't seem to be that bothered. He felt guilty every time he showed his annoyance but Harry expressed sadness in a different way to most; he was just angry. He was angry at Nikki for so many things, angry at Leo for dying and angry at himself for having these feelings towards his friends.

Completely tired and emotionally drained, Harry walked off the plane; this was going to be a close call he noted as he checked his watch, mentally adding three hours to the time it said because he hadn't been organised enough to change it. Even now, as he looked at it, he didn't think to correct it. It was just the wrong time; it was very apt for the situation. It was the wrong time for him to be here first of all; he wished Nikki could have told him earlier, not that it would have made the words any less painful, but perhaps he would have had longer to process the news before he buried one of his best friends. Then maybe he would have found it easier to speak to her. That was the part he was dreading; talking to Nikki. How was he ever going to make this alright? He knew she would depend on him but right now, he couldn't think of anything that would be remotely comforting. Leo was dead. There was no way he could change that; he couldn't correct it. It was the wrong time for Leo to be gone. It was the wrong time for this news; Leo was meant to grow old… older, at least. For some reason Harry had always imagined the three of them, sat in Leo's dining room celebrating his retirement, talking about Harry taking over. Leo would joke about the centre closing down without him because Harry never got any work done, and Nikki would laugh. He loved to hear her laugh, but right now, imagining it couldn't bring a smile to his face, instead it just clouded up his eyes. He wasn't sure when the next time he would see her laugh would be; feeling the way he did now, he wasn't sure if he would ever laugh again either. The rest of the daydream was skipped for now.

He managed to hail a cab – a taxi even, he really needed to stop with the Americanisms – and prepared himself for the journey to the Church. He had known which one it would be before Nikki had told him. It was where Theresa and Cassie were buried, and he was going to be buried with them; if there was any part of death that could be perfect, it would have been this. Leo was with them now and a part of Harry was grateful for that at least. It took him a while before he reached the beautiful old building; there were several faces looking everywhere apart from in his direction except from one. Nikki stood next to a man and woman he could only assume were Jack and Clarissa based on previous phone call and email descriptions. Jack was holding Clarissa's hand on his left, and had his other arm draped around Nikki's shoulders; to anyone else that would have been the right picture, but to Harry it was of course the wrong arm. Opposite them he saw Janet; he didn't know why he was so surprised to see her, he knew it wasn't her that had ended it with Leo, she never could have done. She loved him too much, even now. They were welcoming people into the Church, a task unfairly given to the closest of the deceased. As soon as the blonde had noticed the black cab coming to a halt she shrugged off Jack's arm and shuffled away from the massive wooden doors. She didn't walk any further towards him though and let him rush to lift her up, dropping his bag as she practically fell on to him. He had been wrong; he didn't feel any anger towards her at all. There was only love, like there always had been. He'd been away from her for that long he'd confused the two, but now as she leant crying violently into his chest, it was clear. Pain demands to be felt, and he was certainly feeling hers. He let his own tears fall on to her head as he rested his chin there, wanting her to be as close to him as she possibly could.


	3. Save Tonight - Eagle-Eye Cherry

**Here's the next update! Sorry it's late, I've been busy with freshers week and helping out :') Thank you ****hushedgreylily**** for your review! Hope you enjoy guys, please review :) xx**

"Leo told me something once quite recently; I thought he made it up, but like most of Leo's best lines, it was borrowed. Leo Dalton taught me everything I know, and he will keep on teaching me, because what Leo proved was our almost instinct, almost true: what will survive of us, is love. I don't know what I'll do without him… but the truth is, we aren't without him, for that's what life after death means: that you give so much of yourself while you're here; to the people you know, to the people you love, to the people that need you whether you know them or not, that you do not die, you cannot die."

She couldn't look at him while she said it, because she knew if she did she would stop speaking and lose all of her wits, she was already sobbing slightly as she read. She was struggling to look up at the family and friends of Leo; it sounds clichéd but he had touched so many lives, and thinking about the people staring expectantly at her from the pews, she began to understand. He saved so many people before he even went to Afghanistan. He had saved her numerous times, but most importantly from the emptiness Harry left, he saved Harry from himself, he saved Jack and Clarissa too; it was his genetic disposition to save people. She could understand, she just couldn't stop it from hurting and at that moment, she needed him to save her from that. She finished her eulogy, hoping that she had done him proud, that much she owed him at least, but she couldn't help thinking it was a measly repayment. Jack held her hand as she climbed down the stairs and she folded up the piece of paper once again before taking her seat next to him and Harry, who she could see had made no effort to wipe away the tear stains on his face. He didn't make any grand gestures, just simply threaded his fingers through her own and that's how they stayed for the rest of the service.

Introductions would normally have been appropriate, but Jack and Clarissa already knew who he was. Janet had whispered things to them to explain before the service began and now that it was over, it seemed awkward to shake hands and swap names and so they left them at the grave together. Nikki put down flowers and tapped the top of the black marble headstone before turning to look at him properly since he arrived.

"Home?" This was a strange statement, she thought as she considered it while nodding sub-consciously, and taking his hand again. 'Home is where the heart is' and 'making a house a home' were two sayings she pondered as they strolled quietly to the station. Her heart had been with Harry since the moment they had met, but she had failed to turn her house into a home because she had never managed to domesticate him. 'Home is where the heart is' - she pondered it again; she didn't quite know where her heart was now. As she had been broken she felt like her heart had been too, so did that mean Leo had been her home? He had certainly been her constant and maybe that was what she needed. Harry had never been that. He'd always been someone she could rely on yes, but he was never a constant in her life. A constant couldn't live 3441 miles away, could he?

She was glad she didn't drive all the way here, it would have taken her too long for one thing and another was that with Harry there next to her, she managed to fall asleep being rocked by the carriage and being comforted by his arm around her. He was also glad; he had so far managed to get away with not having to talk. All she wanted was for him to hold her there, and he could do that; he wanted to do that, as much for his benefit as for hers. While she slept, he thought back over the service. It had gone well, he supposed, although he wasn't quite sure if that was the appropriate way to describe a funeral. Nikki's eulogy had been perfect, again a word he wouldn't usually attribute to funeral procedures. He wasn't sure what to say or even think yet. Nikki had had days to process and deal with it, but as he looked at her sleeping now, it was obvious she hadn't been processing it or dealing with it very well until he had arrived. He hadn't even noticed her bandaged hand before now, or the dark circles under her eyes. He could see how pale she was and how, quite frankly, she looked ill and emaciated; he knew she wouldn't have eaten because that was her coping mechanism. No food, no sleep: how was this woman running? Well, she wasn't. She was working on autopilot and now he was there she could switch off. He knew it would happen as soon as he had heard her voice cracking on the phone.

He woke her up as gently as he could when they finally got to their – no her - home station. He didn't struggle to find her car as it was the only one in the car park at that time; he did struggle however with adjusting the driver's seat so that he could fit into it without his knees hitting the steering wheel. In normal circumstances Nikki would have found this quite hilarious, but this was far from normal and so she stared out of the passenger seat window until he had finished instead. He was a bit rusty with her car as he had been used to driving an automatic in America, but he wouldn't trust her to drive them both after having woken up less than five minutes before and for once she hadn't argued back; if he needed proof that there was something wrong with her, that was it. It didn't take him long to get back to her flat, longer than it used to because of the stalling, but at least they got there in one piece… Well, they got there.

He led her up the path, still holding her hand right up to the door where she had to let go and rummage through her purse for her key, something she found difficult to do with her left hand, but something she couldn't do with her right thanks to her outburst earlier. Harry offered to open the door but a stern look in her eyes told him she could do it herself if he just gave her time. It was replaced quickly with a straight, not angry but not quite smiling face as she turned the key and pushed to door in with her shoulder; it would have been a smirk had she been in the mood to play 'one-upping' each other as they often did. This was not one of those times. Nikki dragged herself into the front room and flung her keys on to the side table by the door, before collapsing on to her sofa. He just looked down around the room, taking in his new surroundings, although they weren't particularly new. He wanted to guess at a new rug but he couldn't be sure; everything looked the same as it had a year ago. When he'd last spent the night, before he'd got on his plane. That night was the best night of his life, he had to admit; it was stupid, because he was going and it felt like it was the start to something that would never actually begin, but it was still incredible. She watched him looking round her front room for about half a minute, trying to guess what he was thinking about. Probably Leo, how could they think about anything else? Then again, she thought about the last time they had both been in this flat together, and it was a pretty thought-hogging memory.

"Wine?" Oh God, Harry thought; she wasn't tired anymore, it sounded like she wanted to talk and alcohol was the perfect way of coaxing things out of him.

"Yeah… sure." He was quiet in his response mentally slapping himself for agreeing; he was sure it would only lead to something he didn't want to do: talk.

Luckily for him that was the furthest thing from Nikki's mind that night as well; it would seem that she too had remembered the night before their separation, the beginning of something yet nothing. They sat in a strangely comfortable silence, just holding hands and drinking wine. They were thinking separately but without knowing they were the same thoughts; they needed to be together that night; they needed each other more than could have ever realised. They'd got through a bottle between them before anything even happened. Harry was leaning slightly towards her so he could put his glass on the coffee table in front of them, the clink as glass touched glass adding to the background noise of television which had been on since she been back. This was her opportunity; she took his face in her hands and kissed him, slowly at first until he reciprocated and then faster and more passion filled. Harry broke away suddenly feeling guilty.

"Should we?"

"I don't care. Just for tonight." He hadn't wanted to talk, and this seemed to be the compromise he was almost comfortable with in his solemn and drunken state which matched hers. He didn't visibly shrug but that's what his mind was doing; and so they continued, roughly taking out their pain on each other in a way that hurt neither of them… at least for now, anyway.


	4. Say Something I'm Giving Up on You

**While I've got the first few chapters written I thought you might like another now instead of waiting until I'm sober enough to write :L Thanks for the reviews, I'm so glad I'm getting the characters right! I was worried because I'm new to the fandom even though I've watched all the eps :') Hope you enjoy this chapter guys! **

It was the smell of fresh coffee that finally woke her up. She checked the space beside her first, initially scared and sad there was nobody there; but then understanding worked its way into her mind as she focussed more clearly and took in her senses. Coffee was the first thing; then there was the pain in her head, and then there was the shame from the memory of completely using Harry last night for her own comfort; was he her own personal method of dealing with the death of Leo? Either way it caused her some guilt; then again he could have said no. He could have told her he was too upset, or that he didn't think it was right, but he didn't. Perhaps he needed it… perhaps he wanted it too. There was the hope she had held on to since she had left him at the airport: the hope that he might come back even though she told him to go, because he wanted it; he wanted them. It was all too much to think about with a headache. She lifted the covers over herself and shuffled towards her chest of drawers, pulling out a long thick jumper as well as some pyjama trousers. Sober people had more modesty than their drunken counterparts it seemed.

"Morning." His lips smiled, although his eyes seemed not to get the memo; those sad blue eyes causing a lump in her throat to appear. She gulped it down with a sip of the coffee he handed to her, after flashing him her own not-quite-a-smile-either. If she hadn't been feeling quite so blue, she would have been amazed at the fact he still knew his way round her kitchen probably better than his own. "Your bathroom mirror is broken." It was strangely normal, and she didn't just mean normal as in before Leo had gone either. He had used her bathroom after a night together and commented on the mundane. While last night's activities were far from normal, he being in her house felt just like old times.

"It's a good job really with that face." It was an attempt at a joke and he showed her that he appreciated it by feigning offence. "How do you think I did this?" She lifted up her bandaged hand.

"Ah, your first smashed mirror, I remember mine. That's seven years bad luck you know." He regretted it as soon as he had said it, instantly changing the mood of the room for surprisingly light to dull and gloomy once again.

"Well surely it can't be worse than it is now." She looked down at her coffee again, avoiding his gaze.

"So I was going to go and see mum while I'm here? What do you think? Will you be okay here for a couple of hours?" She noticed him trying to change the subject, but the mood had been set really. She found it strange that he was talking about it like it was a holiday; they hadn't planned a weekend full of activities for while he was staying.

"Of course it's okay. She'll be happy to see you. What would we do anyway?" They both knew what the answer to that would be: mope around thinking about Leo and about how soon he would have to go back. That was a thought; they hadn't discussed how long he was actually staying. She had just taken his presence for granted really. "How long are you here for?"

It was bound to crop up, and he hated Nikki for being so direct sometimes, why couldn't they just grieve in each other's company for a little longer, ignoring the elephant in the room.

"I was going to go back tomorrow. My boss is a lot less kind than Leo is – was… I… God this is hard." He sighed, and ran his hand through his hair.

"I know what you mean," She had winced at his use of the word 'was', it still didn't seem right, but then was it ever going to? "Harry, I meant it… in my... about Leo. I miss him already."

"Me too. But at least we've still got each other." He said sincerely, for the first time expressing how thankful he was that he hadn't lost her in Afghanistan as well; he had been extremely worried when she told him where they were going, because she had a habit of getting herself into sticky situations. Nothing could have prepared him for the news that it was Leo instead who had not come back with his life. Then again, it didn't surprise him that Nikki was here; she always had somebody to save her. His sincerity sparked something in Nikki that he hadn't quite anticipated though.

"Do I… Do I have you, Harry?" They both knew where this was going; the elephant's ears were burning.

"Of course. You pick up the phone and I will run."

"Every time?"

"… I'll try." It was the best he could give her. He couldn't lie to her, but he didn't want to hurt her when she was still so fragile and raw.

"What will I do without Leo? I don't know what I will do without him."

"Neither do I. "

"You've been living in New York Harry, you're over 3000 miles away, you've lived without him!" She couldn't tell if she was angry because he was trying to tell her he could understand and that he too felt the same, or whether it was because he was so far away. All she could hear was her voice rising and the speed of her speech increasing; it wouldn't be long before she was angry-crying so she tried to calm down; her sentence losing some of the 'oomph' it started with, but not quite losing the impact. Her dark brown eyes filled up and she looked so vulnerable in that moment, and he supposed that's what made him say what he did.

"This is exactly why I don't know… who's going to look after you for me Nikki? When you get yourself into the impossible situations that you do? When you get far too involved in a case? Who are you going to turn to?" He was almost shouting now too; things always got so complicated when they were together. Why couldn't they just express their feelings in the way that normal people do instead of shouting at each other? Their friend had just been buried; they had done that together less than twenty-four hours ago, and yet here they were about to jump down each other's throats.

"It's not like I do it purposefully Harry! I don't beg these murderers and psychopaths to attack me!"

"I know but I worry about you Nikki! You're reckless!"

"You're one to talk. If you were so worried about me Harry," then her voice was suddenly quite; they both knew what she was about to say and there was no way of stopping it now. "If you were so worried that you had to make sure Leo would 'keep an eye on me' like a child, then why… why didn't you stay?" Her hard stare was faltering slightly and her lip trembled; she so wished this wasn't happening now, but it was bound to be wasn't it? When neither of them felt they could get any lower, it was only right that they would try because they were just that complicated.

"You told me to go Nikki. You said…" He was matching her quiet tone, somehow making it worse. When he shouted she knew he was angry but now she didn't know what he was feeling.

"At the time I just didn't want you to stay for me, if it was just me you were staying for. You would have resented me if you didn't go and had to stay in a job you clearly had got all you could from."

"You should have told me to stay!"

"And if I had, we would be in the same position we always were! We'd be dancing around each other and never doing anything about it and you would have resented me."

"You couldn't have known how I would have felt Nikki!"

"No but I made my decision and let me tell you, I've never regretted anything more."

"Neither have I. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"Why didn't you tell me that you love me?! At the airport, why didn't you say it?"

"Why didn't you?! Ever? You never… you never said it." Before he could even open his mouth to reply with something, she had opened hers again. "I think you should go."

Storming out the door he realised he had made the wrong decision by listening to her. They should have apologised and moved on from it in any way that they could; somehow they were making Leo's death about them and as he walked on the wrong side of the door and she stood on the right, they both had this same thought. However, they were both incredibly stubborn, and for some reason the grief was making them even more so. Having slowed to a snail's pace and continued to decelerate there was not much further that he could go before he stopped entirely. He contemplated turning around and going back inside and holding her close as she cried over the argument they just had and of course the lingering pain of losing Leo.

She wasn't to know he was deliberating on the other side of the door she was now sliding down. She lifted her hands up and winced only slightly at the sting as she covered her face with them, trying and failing to hold in any tears that were gushing out. She did know however that it was the grief in both of them just taking over, engulfing the common sense parts of their brains and rendering them incapable of making smart decisions. Part of her hoped he would come back and scoop her in his arms, tell her he was sorry amidst her own apologies and then he would stay with her until… the she remembered he would go back and she hoped he didn't come back in, because then she'd would get used to him being there again and she knew that she couldn't expect him to come running every time she was in a spot of bother; he was still 3441 miles away, even if right now he was standing only just over a metre away from where she was sitting.

Then he made an executive decision.


	5. Echo - Jason Walker

**Hey everyone! Thanks for your reviews! This is the last chapter I have fully written so updates might take a little longer considering I've just been given my first piece of coursework after two days of being back at uni! D: But I will try my best! :) Also, the titles of the chapters are songs which I think go with that particular chapter so I put them there for you to go and have a listen while reading, they're all a bit depressing atm because of the tone, but they're still good imo anyway haha! Hope you enjoy this chapter and please continue to review, I love reading them and they are all so nice and encouraging :) xx**

**Echo - Jason Walker**

It had been an executive decision apparently. She was heading up the Lyell until they managed to find a replacement but that might take some time because they had to find someone who could live up to Professor Dalton's reputation and they wished she would consider taking the post because she had the most experience with working with the professor and she knew how the Lyell was meant to run… She had only skim-read the letter when it first landed on her welcome mat just inside her flat about a week after Harry had left. She supposed it wouldn't have been long before they started talking about who would be taking over, although she had hoped she could at least finish her 'compassionate leave' with a bit of peace from them. As it happened the next week of planned leave was now going to be spent at the centre, and wouldn't be leave at all. She was getting bored of staring blankly at the same four walls at her flat and so she had spent the first few weeks after the funeral doing paperwork and all the things she had only seen Leo do from a distance. They had offered her Leo's position with a professorship on top of it all; it wasn't something that a person would usually turn their nose up at and it was something she had dreamt of doing ever since joining the team. However it was just the wrong time for it and it hadn't come about in the way she had wanted it to; she couldn't take over from Leo because it was all too fresh in her mind. But otherwise they would get someone new in and everything would change, wouldn't it? She didn't need any more changes in her life; she was already readjusting (badly) to the recent ones.

It wasn't hard for Leo to be far from her mind in those early few weeks back at the Lyell. The people at the top had decided to send most of the cases in the local area to nearby labs so that firstly they weren't overwhelmed after the death of a 'prominent scientist' from their own centre, and also so that Nikki could ease into the higher position, even if it was only temporary. Many still hoped that she would reconsider after a month or so if she experienced it. So there was very little for the rest of team to do but talk about Leo and what he had left behind; the legacy and name would be remembered for many years to come because of just how 'prominent' he was. They kept using that word she noticed, but she never partook in the conversations. The people from the home office and the university and the police officers (on the cases they were actually allowed to take on) were not short of words on how he 'was brilliant at what he did' and he 'had a real knack for seeking out the minute details'. Weren't they all good at looking for the small details? Wasn't that what pathology was all about? The details were important in any death be it of natural or not so natural causes. They had all discovered the causes for deaths for many years now, were they not also 'prominent' in the field of pathology? Is this how people were going to remember her: Nicola Alexander, a 'prominent' scientist? She certainly hoped that there would be someone left to remember her for something other than that. In Leo's case the 'something' in question being his compassion and friendliness; the way he felt for Theresa and Cassie even years after they were gone; what about how he had been the best father figure Nikki had ever had and how he had taught her far more than just how to be a good pathologist?

Would she be the only one to remember how he used to watch her and Harry working or squabbling over a case and laugh because he knew what was to come, or at least what should have come? She would certainly be the only one to remember how he picked her up when Harry let her down, unintentionally she always knew of course, but still he was always there when Harry couldn't be. She hoped it wasn't just her who had these memories of him being something other than a 'prominent scientist', she really did hope that he was also a 'prominent person' and was playing on somebody else's mind so they couldn't concentrate on the piece of paper that had been begging for attention for the last half an hour.

The lecture he was about to give was nothing special; he had given it at least three times now to the same crowd of mostly hung-over and uninterested students. His voice was monotonous and not his own as he spewed out the rehearsed presentation, his mind being conscious somewhere else. That somewhere else of course was torn between Leo and Nikki. He had stupidly thought that he would able to start work again with the same enthusiasm and commitment that he had had before Leo had died. He was wrong. He was constantly being bombarded by the fact that Leo was gone; he felt immense amounts of guilt that he hadn't been with him in Afghanistan or even with the team in the past year or so. His mind kept telling him that he should have been there, he felt that was where he belonged and so his sadness had turned into guilt at not being there.

Then there was Nikki; he scolded himself daily over the decision he had made. Guilt and grief and anger had just taken over him when really he should have gone back in and they could have both spent the day together because being 3441 miles away meant that he missed her incredibly and any time that they had together should have been precious, even if they were just sat around talking and crying about Leo, they were still together on a rare chance. She hadn't spoken to him at all since that day and he worried incessantly over how she was doing; he would have asked one of the team to keep an eye on her, to make sure she was eating and sleeping, that sort of thing. But of course he didn't really know any of the team that well anymore to entrust upon them that job. He had asked the receptionist in the end, it was always worthwhile having a pair of eyes there even if they weren't in the best shape and were hidden behind large round glasses. She was the best available but she definitely wasn't the best at the job; her first email to him had been her telling him one tiny piece of detail about Nikki looking quite thin and then she started talking about how she could bring in her home-made beef stew and how she was sure it would be a favourite because her husband loved it… and somehow she managed to ramble on for three paragraphs, not mentioning Nikki once in this space but giving him the recipe so he could make it for his American friends. He remembered replying with his thanks and how he would be sure to try and make her special beef stew, with the sarcastic part of his brain on overload only thinking how much of a field day Nikki would have when he told her about this… and then he remembered he wouldn't be telling her, at least for a long while to come anyway; he had a feeling this radio silence was going to last a while.

Somehow he finished the lecture and had hopefully given at least some of the students some helpful information that they would use in their exams but honestly, he wasn't sure of what he had said in that hour, or the next or even the several other lectures he had or would give for the next few weeks. He seemed to be bumbling through things, waiting for something, anything to take him away from his suddenly boring American-dream lifestyle.

Mrs Pritchard, the receptionist, hadn't thought to mention the fact that Nikki's past month had been as mundane as his because the only thing more boring than a boring day is reading about how someone else was finding theirs just as dull. That was her reasoning anyway. She also didn't mention that as well as Leo not being far from Nikki's mind, the geographically far-away university lecturer had also been close to her thoughts in the last few weeks but how was Mrs Pritchard supposed to know this? She was constantly opening up and closing down drafted emails to him, when she thought people weren't looking, explaining that she had been stupid and that she really did want to speak to him again. She had composed a text or two telling him that they should put their argument behind them and maybe when he visited again they could get together, just for a drink this time and nothing else. She had even scrolled down to his number in her phone, just wanting to hear his voice again when she was feeling down about things - mainly Leo - which was pretty much her constant setting. But then she remembered how they had left things, and if anything she felt guilty and awkward at how she had ruined the very little time they had together before he went back to New York and because she felt awkward, she could never quite find it in her to press 'send' or 'call'.

Luckily she was interrupted from what seemed like the billionth completely dull report she had been given to look over along with what also seemed like her billionth drafted email to Harry, by Jack calling her from the conference room. His voice firstly surprised her as they had barely spoken in the past month; he knew he wouldn't be able to say anything remotely comforting or helpful. Not only this, but he worried she still held a little bit of resentment towards him for holding her back, although he hadn't mentioned this to her of course, worrying the memory of him using all the strength he could muster to keep a hold of her. Who would have thought someone so small and skinny would have so much strength? But anyone could tell you that in the moment when you are at your most vulnerable, you apparently gain unimaginable body strength. "Nikki! We've got a body!" She felt slightly guilty for being a little more upbeat than she had been in the past month and this was just because there was a lifeless being waiting for examination, and then came another flashing image of Leo, but she desperately needed something to distract her from such thoughts and so she pushed the guilt out of her mind and grabbed her bag. Her heels echoed through the corridors, and Mrs Pritchard noted the smile Nikki gave her as she passed, returning one to both the blonde pathologist and the muscly forensic guy she had her eye on; she thought it quite morbid really, the whole thing, how death could put a smile on somebody's face. She didn't realise that it wasn't death putting a smile on her face, and that was a silly thing for anyone who knew Nikki to think; it was actually the fact that she was slowly but surely getting on with things and being on a case was something to start her up again. She didn't need Leo or Harry when she was at scene or in the lab; at those times all she needed was to focus on the task at hand and by focusing on it, she would lose all other thoughts plaguing her.

She didn't think about Leo or Harry at all during the drive there. She had turned the radio up loudly to hopefully drown out any thoughts about them that tried to invade her brain space and Jack sat beside her, staring out of the window like a child. All she had been told so far was that it was definitely a suspicious one, which meant that they were finally directing the interesting cases back to the Lyell and that she must be ready at last to get stuck into things properly. Maybe it was just that the people at the nearby lab were getting snowed under taking their extra cases and a month was surely a long enough time period for someone to 'move on'. She parked as closely as she could to the crime scene before getting out and flashing her badge and a fake but believable enough smile at the police officer guarding the tape.

"Detective Inspector Barnes." A gangly man wearing a dull brown suit held out his hand for her to shake, offering her a frown to go with it.

"Doctor Alexander." He hadn't bothered with even a touch of friendliness, so she already knew the type of person she was going to be dealing with. She waited for him to point her in the direction of the body, knowing Jack would be taking his time getting his kit out of the car, and she set off in front of the DI, not bothering to check if he was following closely enough behind her.

She had seen bodies since Leo's death, of course she had; it was what she did, although nothing could have prepared her for the scene that was presented to her. In fact, the mangled remains of what appeared to be a male on first glance were to cause a first for Nikki Alexander, in her whole time as working as a pathologist. As soon as she saw the remains she promptly spun around and vomited… luckily just missing the black shoes and dull suit trousers of DI Barnes.


	6. Iris - Goo Goo Dolls

**Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter :) Thanks for reviewing. Hope you enjoy it and please leave reviews :D xx**

**Iris - Goo Goo Dolls**

"I know you forensics lot aren't that keen on me, but I can say that's the first time one of you has chucked up on me." Barnes attempted a joke and anyone could see that it didn't come naturally to him, although Nikki appreciated him for trying.  
>"Here you go," Jack handed her a bottle of water he had found on the back seat of her car that could have been there for weeks, but she took it gratefully with shaking hands.<br>"God, how embarrassing." She finally managed to speak in a rough but small voice.  
>"Not really, we've had plenty of officers throw up, faint… you name it. Besides, this is a particularly nasty one. I'm sure I went a bit green when I first arrived." DI Barnes was slowly going up in her estimations, but he still wasn't exceeding his friendliness potential as everything he said was accompanied by a frown.<br>"It is a gruesome one; do you want me to get someone else down here Nikki? You can go home if you want." Jack still had a heavy hand on her shoulder, obviously as a sign of caring, but it just wasn't right. She knew exactly what she needed deep down, but she was damned if she was going to admit it. She placed the bottle down on the wall she was sat on and used her other hand to steady herself as she got up, not too fast, as she knew she would be light-headed but didn't want to show it.  
>"No, I'll be fine." She didn't offer any more explanation and Jack knew better than to press her.<p>

She managed to do the on-scene examination without any more of her breakfast appearing, even though it tried to. In all honesty, she hoped she had caught a bug and not that the sight of a corpse, albeit a badly-beaten and bloodied one, had made her throw up. In all honesty, her first glance at the body had caused a sudden flood of emotion, bringing all thoughts of Leo back in one quick wave. But she had seen bodies since then, maybe they had just been more organised and with every body part clearly attached and so would not immediately cause such a reaction. She didn't have a fever though, and once she got back to the lab she was feeling completely normal and so the only explanation was that seeing the body like this had caused some underlying psychological issues.

"White male, age twenty-four concordant with identification found at the scene." She took a deep breath and looked round to see if she had an audience; as expected, DI Barnes and Jack were watching over her as she took various measurements and dissected the parts of the body that had not already been carved by the killer. "The cause of death would have been the knife wound to the carotid artery with the removal of limbs being done post-mortem. Nigel can you take a picture here… It also looks like two different knives. It's more likely that a serrated-edged knife was used as the actual murder weapon and then a obviously large meat knife for the removal of the arms and calves and feet." it was quick and clinical, more so than she usually was, scared that if she got into the case she would let emotions rule her head again and she had only just regained control of them, or so she had thought. She had to admit this was a curious case. What had been the motive for the killer removing the limbs if that was not going to be the cause of death? Why had the killer made it so easy for them to identify the body, unless it was a warning for others? Neither the murder weapon nor the meat knife had been found, and the limbs - there was a slight twinge in her stomach - had been left next to the body and not strewn around the field in which the body had been found. There had been no attempt to hide the body as the blood smear patterns found on the grass would indicate that this was the place in which the man had been killed. There were so many questions that couldn't be answered by the post-mortem and she could feel herself getting further into the case than she had hoped.

It was late by the time Nikki had finished cleaning herself up and she really should have gone home; DI Barnes had left an hour or so ago and she had promised to have the post-mortem report ready for tomorrow. She could do that at home, she knew she could, but there was something about Leo's office that begged her to stay. It had done for the past month. His chair that was in a desperate need of oiling and all the art hung around that she had never particularly liked but now she had an appreciation for, just because it was Leo's and he had liked it. Not to mention the familiar photos of all of them she hadn't noticed until she had sat at his desk and took the time to look around the day she returned to work. She was looking at them now as she sat back in his squeaky chair, running her hands through her slightly damp hair. There was the one she had taken after Leo had received his MBE, a few of office parties of the three of them together, then of just him and Harry. She smiled and quickly moved off this one, and looked to her left where her favourite photo of her and Leo was. They had taken it in South Africa and the sunset was beautiful and Leo had stolen Harry's hat and she was laughing at him. They weren't posing for the picture but Harry had taken it before they had stopped 'goofing around' and it was completely natural. She stopped herself crying by quickly turning away from the photo and logging on to the computer.

To: .com  
>From: .uk<br>CC:  
>Subject:<p>

Harry, you're going to laugh so hard when you read this I can just see it now. You won't believe what happened today. So I went to a scene and it was all relatively normal, I had one of those policemen you can just tell are not going to appreciate anything you do for them, he didn't smile once. Meanwhile you were probably sat behind a desk enjoying your own company, how dull! ;) Anyway, I got there and as soon as I saw the body I was sick. That's never happened to me before, and you know it. I don't know why and it's bugging me. I'm worried it's got something to do with -

And then she stopped typing, selected everything that she had written, pressed delete and switched of the computer. She was trying to hide her worry behind stupid humour which, while normally would have been appropriate for the pair of them, would not mask the fact they hadn't spoken in a month or the fact that neither of them were any closer to apologising.

To: .com  
>From: .uk<br>CC:  
>Subject: Professorship at the Lyell<p>

Dear Mr Cunningham,

As you know we recently lost Professor Dalton; it was a tragic loss and I know you worked with him for many years and so I offer you my condolences. It is with a different note that I am writing this email however. The home office is looking for somebody to take up Professor Dalton's role at the Lyell Centre and we would like to extend to you an offer for this role. Further details can be discussed if you wish; feel free to contact me, my details and office hours can be found at the bottom of the page.

Yours Sincerely,  
>Michael Baron<p>

To: .uk  
>From: .com<br>CC:  
>Subject:<p>

Niks, I've been offered a job…

Hi Nikki! How are you?

Nikki, I'm sorry about what happened. You were right, I never did say it.

Harry had been drafting several emails to Nikki after receiving one himself from back home. It had been a shock to him to receive the email as he would have thought Nikki would have been given first chance to take it, and he couldn't see why she wouldn't: they were offering her a professorship as well head of the Lyell. He knew from his spy that Nikki was currently the head of the centre, but he hadn't known she was just acting head he had just assumed she been offered the post straight away. He couldn't quite find it in him to send an email because he didn't know what to say, it had been a month after all. If he was to get back in contact with her he knew he would have to pick up the phone, but then he didn't want to hear her voice because he knew he'd just hear the hurt he caused her. That wasn't something he couldn't handle 3441 miles away as he knew he would feel the need to be right there next to her.

Instead of thinking about Nikki for a second longer, he let the prospect of a new job torture his mind for a while. America had been the escape he had needed: the chance to do something completely different. It had also become incredibly dull. If he wasn't lecturing uninterested youths, he was sat behind a desk planning a lecture for uninterested youths and trying to find a spare minute to do a little bit of his research. He did miss the excitement of the Lyell; even the calls in the ungodly hours of the morning disturbing him from a beautiful dream involving an even more beautiful pathologist were enough to make him wish he was back there. But he hadn't wanted to admit his mistake, not to himself or to anyone, especially not Nikki. It had been something he had always wanted to do and he couldn't just jump on a plane back because he didn't like the first week... month… year…

Somehow she had made it home, eaten a late dinner and had gone to bed. She couldn't remember the details because that was all quite mundane; these things were merely a way of passing the minutes of the day. She wondered whether normal people remembered such details, and by normal she meant those who weren't grieving whilst focussing on a gruesome murder. They were little unimportant details of life that just occurred, so it shouldn't matter whether she could recall the events leading to her sitting cross-legged in bed with her laptop scrolling through the pictures of the crime scene. Far from not getting too involved in this case, she was subconsciously letting it consume her, apparently as a coping mechanism for dealing with the loss of Leo and in a way of Harry too, for the second time. It was for this reason she didn't notice the night turn into day, or her eyelids giving way to the gravity of tiredness eventually pushing down on her.

Nikki woke up to both the sound of her alarm and her ringtone blaring from her bed-side table. She still had the laptop balancing precariously on her crossed legs which she knew would be stiff from the position in which she had slept, and her neck was going to be cricked from it lolling sideways. These were the things she became aware of first, next it was the sound of her alarm which she expected, and then the sound of her phone, which she did not.  
>"Doctor Alexander? It's DI Barnes, sorry to wake you," he didn't sound it "it's just that we've found another body and it's looking disturbingly similar to the last one."<br>"Where are you?" She sounded groggy but it was only to be expected after less than four hours sleep.  
>"We're at the border of Fallows Wood, where it backs a school's field."<br>"I can be there in about an hour." She knew exactly where the wood was; the school in question was her old high school and was where the waster kids would go smoke at lunchtime. She remembered for a minute strolling on to there with her past boyfriend encouraging her to smoke one of his roll-ups. She gave into peer pressure, not wanting to let him down in front of his friends and not wanting to look like a bit of a loser in front of them. Then she thought about what those kids would be doing now; she was sure a quick Facebook search would give her insight but before she could even think about their names, a wave of nausea hit her suddenly, making it a miracle that she made it into her en-suite just in time. It was no coincidence this coincided with the finding of another mutilated body, she thought as she cleaned herself up and stumbled back through her bedroom clumsily.


End file.
